Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to reduce pollution from farms.

Ross Finnie: I am committed to a partnership approach to the protection and enhancement of Scotland’s environment.

  We are working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the farming industry and other stakeholders to improve the guidance available to farmers on pollution prevention and to promote its adoption. A group drawn from SEPA, National Farmers Union Scotland (NFU Scotland), the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and the Executive is currently revising the Code of Good Practice on Prevention of Environmental Pollution From Agricultural Activity. The Executive has also collaborated with WWF Scotland, NFU Scotland, SAC, SEPA and Scottish Natural Heritage to establish a new advisory post at the college to advise on and publicise best practice on protection of the water environment. Other measures funded by the Executive include development of a CD-ROM planning tool on environmental management for agriculture and SAC on-going advisory work. We are also working to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides through voluntary measures in partnership with farmers, the agrochemical industry and the UK government.

  We are also sponsoring a research programme examining the impact, mechanisms and transport of agricultural diffuse pollution. Based on this research, the Scottish Executive issued an advice note on the prevention of agricultural diffuse pollution at bathing waters to farmers in at-risk catchments on 20 July 2001 (Bib. number 14970).

  Where appropriate we will regulate. SEPA already has statutory powers to require farmers to undertake work to bring facilities for the collection and storage of silage, slurry and fuel oil up to legally defined standards. Farmers are also required under the Groundwater Regulations 1998 to obtain authorisation from SEPA for disposing of sheep dip and other agricultural chemicals.

  To tackle the specific problem of nitrate pollution we are currently consulting with the farming industry and others on new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ). Further consultation on the mandatory Action Programmes for the proposed NVZs will follow shortly.

  We are also extending pollution controls to intensive farming (pigs and poultry). New installations are already subject to the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 and existing farms will be brought into that regime in 2007. We also plan to bring non-natural agricultural waste into the controlled waste regime. It is planned that draft regulations on this matter will be issued for consultation later in 2002.

  Finally, we established an Agriculture and Environment Working Group in September 2001 to advise ministers on the means of achieving a more joined-up approach to agriculture and environmental policy. The group's final report is to be submitted in the spring.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it offers to agricultural machinery rings.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society receives grant support from the Executive to carry out specific services. These include promoting the benefits of machinery ring membership as well as offering strategic, business and developmental advice to individual rings. Support has also been available from the enterprise network, local authorities, Rural Challenge Fund and European Structural Funds.

Agriculture

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of how any monies from the modulation of farmers’ subsidies will be spent in 2002-03.

Ross Finnie: All the receipts raised in Scotland will be used in Scotland in ways which are of benefit to the Scottish farming industry. We forecast that around £3.97 million of the receipts raised through modulation will be used to fund agri-environment schemes (the Rural Stewardship Scheme, the Organic Aid Scheme, the Countryside Premium Scheme and Environmentally Sensitive Areas) and £1.61 million will be used to fund afforestation schemes (the Woodland Grant Scheme and the Farm Premium Woodland Scheme).

Audit Scotland

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions there have been with Audit Scotland to ensure that performance indicator comparisons made across all police forces and fire brigades are accurate and consistent.

Dr Richard Simpson: Scottish Executive officials meet regularly with Audit Scotland through two Working Groups on Performance Indicators, one for the fire service and one for police service. The concerns about consistency and accuracy which the member raises fall to be dealt with in these working groups.

Cancer

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that there is no "postcode prescribing" of Herceptin to clinically suitable patients for the treatment of secondary breast cancer in Glasgow.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The treatment of a patient is a matter of clinical judgement, informed by the individual circumstances of that patient and evidence about the effectiveness of the available medicines.

  The Health Technology Board for Scotland will issue advice on the prescription of Herceptin in Scotland following the publication of Guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, expected in May 2002.

Cities

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to meet Angus Council to discuss the review of the cities.

Iain Gray: We are in the process of setting up a meeting with Angus and the other councils neighbouring Dundee.

Crime

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20558 by Colin Boyd QC on 18 December 2001, why the information requested regarding the breakdown by crime and offence of the number of fiscal warnings in 2000 is not available and whether it will, from now, collate this information, detailing the reasons behind its decision.

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20557 by Colin Boyd QC on 18 December 2001, why the information requested regarding the breakdown by crime and offence of the number of fiscal fines in 2000 is not available and whether it will, from now, collate this information, detailing the reasons behind its decision.

Colin Boyd QC: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22584.

Crime

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20556 by Colin Boyd QC on 18 December 2001, why the information requested regarding the breakdown by crime and offence of the number of no proceedings in 2000 is not available and whether it will, from now, collate this information, detailing the reasons behind its decision.

Colin Boyd QC: The records of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are kept electronically. The computer system was designed for case tracking and handling, not for statistical analysis. The cost of developing such a statistical capability would be extremely high and would require the diversion of resources from front-line service delivery. Colin Boyd QC: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22584.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21740 by Malcolm Chisholm on 25 January 2001, which NHS boards are providing the match funding for the seven domestic abuse projects being supported and how much each board is providing.

Ms Margaret Curran: The following health boards have made funding available for Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund projects in 2001-02:

  Dumfries and Galloway (two projects) - £17,500

  Forth Valley Health Board - £3,000

  Highland Health Board - £5,000

  Ayrshire and Arran Health Board (two projects) - £9,500

  Lothian Health Board has also contributed to a project in partnership with Lothian and Borders Police and City of Edinburgh Council but separate figures are not available.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken at present, and is planned, to challenge and change the behaviour of men who abuse women and who have not been through the criminal justice process.

Ms Margaret Curran: The current Scottish Executive awareness raising campaign aims to change attitudes of both men and women through a variety of media.

  The Action Plan in the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland recommends the further development of voluntary programmes for those abusive men who are not dealt with through mandatory supervision under criminal justice processes. The national group will consider this recommendation in due course.

Driving Licences

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regarding the requirement for a DVLA medical adviser to be present at an appeal against the refusal or withdrawal of a driving licence for a person with an advancing psychiatric condition and in particular regarding the costs to the individual for the attendance of such an advisor.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including driver licensing.

Drug Misuse

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people received treatment for the first time from their local drug treatment service in 2001.

Dr Richard Simpson: The following table shows the number of individual patients/clients reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database by NHS board area of residence for 2000-01. More detailed information has been published in the ISD Scotland publication Drug Misuse in Scotland 2001 , which is available on the National Drug Misuse website.

  New1 individual patients/clients2,3 reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database by NHS board area of residence

  


Scotland 
  

 10,591 
  



Argyll & Clyde 
  

 1,330 
  



Ayrshire & Arran 
  

 1,239 
  



Borders 
  

 102 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

 207 
  



Fife 
  

 598 
  



Forth Valley 
  

 247 
  



Grampian 
  

 631 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

 3,290 
  



Highland 
  

 124 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

 513 
  



Lothian 
  

 1,947 
  



Tayside 
  

 405 
  



Island Boards4


 24 
  



Outside Scotland 
  

 7 
  



  Notes:

  1. The definition of "new" is (a) the person is attending the particular service for the first time ever, or (b) the person has attended before but not within the previous six months.

  2. All figures in this table exclude penal establishment inmates and information received from needle exchanges.

  3. The database collects anonymous information about new problem drug users presenting at a broad range of drug services across Scotland, including general practices.

  4. Shetland and Western Isles NHS boards. Orkney has no specialist drug services.

Economy

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Treasury regarding policies for economic growth.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Officials in the Executive are in regular contact with the Treasury on a range of issues. Ministers also exchange regular correspondence and have private conversations with Treasury Ministers from time to time.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is tackling truancy in schools.

Nicol Stephen: The key to reducing truancy is to ensure that young people see a purpose to schooling. Effective learning and teaching is much easier to achieve where a positive ethos and good discipline prevail.

  The Discipline Task Group Report, Better Behaviour-Better Learning, has made 36 recommendations aimed at improving discipline and ethos in Scotland's schools. The Executive is currently funding a number of initiatives aimed at, or impacting on, truancy including the Scottish Schools Ethos Network, the Anti-Bullying Network, the Alternatives to Exclusion Programme, Support for Parents, Study Support and New Community Schools.

Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the development of its guidance on home education.

Nicol Stephen: Draft guidance on the circumstances in which parents may choose to educate their children at home has been issued for consultation. The consultation period runs until 29 March 2002. The Scottish Executive will then consider all representations received before agreeing appropriate amendments.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cultural co-ordinators have been appointed by (a) it and (b) local authorities in each of the past three years.

Dr Elaine Murray: We will be making an announcement in the near future on the setting up of a pilot programme for school cultural co-ordinators.

Emergency Services

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what precautionary health service arrangements are in place in anticipation of any major incident at the Grangemouth refinery.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Forth Valley takes account of the refinery at Grangemouth in its emergency plans. These are co-ordinated with those of the emergency services, local authorities and other organisations, and are reviewed and exercised regularly.

Enterprise

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to change the focus of enterprise development from inward investment to other growth contributors.

Mr Jack McConnell: Ms Wendy Alexander this week announced a shift in our priorities which will target home grown companies so we have less reliance on enterprise from overseas. This is good news for Scotland.

Enterprise

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to protect jobs at Richards and the Caledonian Airborne Engineering Group in Aberdeen.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive and its agencies are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to assist both companies and their workforce as appropriate.

Epilepsy

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will compile information centrally on how many epilepsy specialist nurses are employed and which NHS board employs them.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has no plans to compile information centrally on the numbers of epilepsy specialist nurses.

Epilepsy

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider producing an Epilepsy Framework similar to its Diabetes Framework.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no plans for an Epilepsy Framework. Active consideration is being given, with the help of Epilepsy Action Scotland, to the possibility of a pilot Managed Clinical Network for epilepsy. The Executive funded a Symposium on this, which took place on 11 February.

Fireworks

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in order to mitigate any distress and injury caused to animals during the prolonged period of firework use on and around 5 November.

Dr Richard Simpson: The sale, supply and safety of fireworks are consumer protection matters and, as such, are reserved. The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Fire Service fully support the DTI’s annual Firework Safety Campaign. In 2001, the DTI’s Firework Safety Toolkit was issued to fire brigades across Scotland. Brigades distributed the toolkit, including safety posters and leaflets, to schools. Additionally, brigades took further action which they considered essential to raise awareness of bonfire and firework safety issues in their local areas.

Health

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the First Minister what steps are being taken to improve post-operative care.

Mr Jack McConnell: Patients are at their most vulnerable directly after surgery. We must continually improve standards of post-operative care and the Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality provides powerful information to inform those improvements.

  As a result the number of intensive care beds in Scotland has risen, and there is now a High Dependency Unit in every major hospital in Scotland. We are also working to ensure there are greater numbers of experienced nursing staff in the NHS.

Health

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any evidence of ageism within the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: The issue was explored in depth by the Chief Medical Officer’s Expert Group on the Health of Older People, and forms a chapter in its report Adding Life to Years, published last month. The report concludes that while there is no systematic evidence of ageism in NHSScotland, there are significant concerns about ageism, and these need to be addressed. The Executive is now considering implementation of the recommendations in the report on this and all the other issues it addressed.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the responsibilities of community pharmacists.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our plans for enhancing the role of community pharmacists are set out in   The Right Medicine: A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotland .

Health

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to take forward its strategy on pharmaceutical care by making better use of pharmacists’ expertise.

Hugh Henry: We will work with the bodies representing pharmacists to ensure implementation of the strategy.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the European Working Time Directive (93/104/EC) has had on the number of junior doctors employed by the NHS, broken down by NHS board area, in each year since the directive came into force.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The European Working Time Directive does not come into force for doctors in training until the year 2004.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial impact of the European Working Time Directive (93/104/EC) has been in each year since the directive came into force, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of the national minimum wage has had on the number of junior doctors employed by the NHS in each year since it came into force, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial impact the introduction of the national minimum wage has had on the NHS in each year since it came into force, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Whitley pay rates have been above the rate of the national minimum wage since it came into force in April 1999.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the proposals for changes to in-patient maternity and other services in the Forth Valley NHS Board area will be put out to public consultation.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Forth Valley. I understand, however, that proposals are being developed on acute and related services, with the public consultation phase scheduled to take place between May and July 2002.

Health

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been prescribed anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) treatments on the NHS in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally. Infliximab and Etanercept are available on NHS prescription. However, their use depends on the clinical judgement of specialists experienced in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Data on drugs dispensed in hospitals is not held centrally. Centrally collected data relates to items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Health

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have adhered to the (a) Scottish Prospective Evaluation of the Clinical Effectiveness of TNF Alpha Inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis (SPECTRA) and (b) Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guidelines on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prescriptions for homeopathic treatments were dispensed in the NHS in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table lists the number of NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community in each of the last five years:

  


Year 
  

Number of Prescriptions 
  



1996-97 
  

46,904 
  



1997-98 
  

49,556 
  



1998-99 
  

51,486 
  



1999-2000 
  

54,310 
  



2000-01 
  

52,889

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost was to the NHS in real terms of (a) generic, (b) branded and (c) homeopathic prescriptions in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table lists the average cost of a prescription item for each category for the last five years:

  Generic

  


Year 
  

Average cost per item (£) 
  



2000-01 
  

10.64 
  



1999-2000 
  

9.50 
  



1998-99 
  

8.22 
  



1997-98 
  

7.76 
  



1996-97 
  

6.88 
  



  Branded

  


Year 
  

Average cost per item (£) 
  



2000-01 
  

14.29 
  



1999-2000 
  

13.27 
  



1998-99 
  

12.77 
  



1997-98 
  

12.22 
  



1996-97 
  

11.78 
  



  Homeopathic

  


Year 
  

Average cost per item (£) 
  



2000-01 
  

3.68 
  



1999-2000 
  

3.49 
  



1998-98 
  

3.29 
  



1997-98 
  

2.97 
  



1996-97 
  

2.85 
  



  These data refer to NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community and do not take into account any items dispensed by hospitals or hospital based clinics.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the comments made by Lord Bonomy regarding the state of the court system.

Mr Jim Wallace: Lord Bonomy’s criticisms were caused by the late intimation to the court that an accused person was due to attend hospital for an operation on the day his case was called in to court for trial.

  A memorandum issued by the Lord Justice General will come in to effect on 25 February 2002. It sets out a protocol for both the Crown and Defence requiring them to exchange the necessary information to avoid unnecessary delay in cases being brought before the High Court and in their further continuation or adjournment to a later date.

Justice

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many High Court cases in (a) Scotland and (b) each court have been postponed on the day of commencement due to technicalities or other reasons and what the estimated cost was resulting from such postponements in each case, in each of the past three years and in the current year.

Mr Jim Wallace: Postponement of cases in the High Court is a statutory procedure which takes place before the start of a trial and no statistics of such postponements are collected.

  However, the table which follows sets out the number of indictments registered in the High Court over the last three years, the number of cases which had a plea of guilty tendered before evidence was commenced, the number of cases which proceeded to have evidence led, and the balance of cases which did not proceed either prior to, or on the day of trial, for a variety of reasons. These reasons may include cases not proceeding due to witness unavailability, not called in court or deserted by the Crown, or cases where a warrant is issued for the accused among other things.

  No information on the costs of postponements is collected.

  

 

High Court 
  



1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Indictments Registered 
  

1,154 
  

1,478 
  

1,343 
  



Guilty plea tendered 
  

601 
  

738 
  

616 
  



Evidence-led trials 
  

412 
  

407 
  

462 
  



Balance of cases 
  

141 
  

333 
  

265

Justice

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sheriff court cases in (a) Scotland and (b) each court have been postponed on the day of commencement due to technicalities or other reasons and what the estimated cost was resulting from such postponements in each case, in each of the past three years and in the current year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The table which follows sets out the number of summary criminal trials which were called in court for trial, and the number which were adjourned to another trial date for a variety of reasons.

  No information on the costs of postponements is collected.

  The figures are as follows:

  


Summary Trial Adjournments 
  






1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



No. of Summary Trials Called 
  

Total No. of adjournments 
  

No. of Summary Trials Called 
  

Total No. of adjournments 
  

No. of Summary Trials Called 
  

Total No. of adjournments 
  

No. of Summary Trials Called 
  

Total No. of adjournments 
  



Aberdeen 
  

1,348 
  

523 
  

1304 
  

452 
  

1,023 
  

374 
  

1,390 
  

576 
  



Banff 
  

82 
  

27 
  

146 
  

62 
  

159 
  

73 
  

215 
  

108 
  



Dingwall 
  

183 
  

55 
  

121 
  

42 
  

157 
  

60 
  

150 
  

53 
  



Dornoch 
  

140 
  

43 
  

102 
  

31 
  

71 
  

24 
  

80 
  

19 
  



Elgin 
  

391 
  

143 
  

416 
  

139 
  

425 
  

143 
  

596 
  

212 
  



Fort William 
  

131 
  

47 
  

123 
  

38 
  

128 
  

55 
  

179 
  

67 
  



Inverness 
  

595 
  

227 
  

479 
  

176 
  

608 
  

240 
  

692 
  

269 
  



Kirkwall 
  

74 
  

25 
  

63 
  

26 
  

67 
  

27 
  

72 
  

31 
  



Lerwick 
  

121 
  

63 
  

157 
  

70 
  

120 
  

59 
  

110 
  

57 
  



Lochmaddy 
  

49 
  

12 
  

25 
  

10 
  

23 
  

9 
  

32 
  

9 
  



Peterhead 
  

372 
  

157 
  

369 
  

146 
  

304 
  

112 
  

344 
  

134 
  



Portree 
  

22 
  

8 
  

23 
  

5 
  

23 
  

5 
  

33 
  

10 
  



Stonehaven 
  

151 
  

45 
  

184 
  

63 
  

116 
  

46 
  

156 
  

57 
  



Stornoway 
  

134 
  

46 
  

100 
  

35 
  

68 
  

29 
  

103 
  

33 
  



Tain 
  

172 
  

54 
  

213 
  

66 
  

170 
  

72 
  

166 
  

59 
  



Wick 
  

159 
  

63 
  

90 
  

28 
  

91 
  

29 
  

131 
  

54 
  



Alloa 
  

284 
  

116 
  

419 
  

170 
  

462 
  

185 
  

551 
  

238 
  



Arbroath 
  

556 
  

189 
  

477 
  

169 
  

357 
  

134 
  

389 
  

142 
  



Cupar 
  

195 
  

80 
  

200 
  

78 
  

194 
  

91 
  

320 
  

146 
  



Dundee 
  

1,987 
  

861 
  

1,818 
  

754 
  

1,592 
  

688 
  

2,187 
  

948 
  



Dunfermline 
  

554 
  

208 
  

477 
  

172 
  

641 
  

193 
  

565 
  

216 
  



Falkirk 
  

980 
  

384 
  

1,033 
  

397 
  

995 
  

377 
  

1,087 
  

460 
  



Forfar 
  

152 
  

65 
  

181 
  

78 
  

182 
  

77 
  

223 
  

101 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

1,068 
  

425 
  

948 
  

380 
  

1,048 
  

453 
  

1,411 
  

581 
  



Perth 
  

1,038 
  

389 
  

1,030 
  

391 
  

863 
  

368 
  

1,279 
  

547 
  



Stirling 
  

532 
  

223 
  

502 
  

227 
  

589 
  

249 
  

964 
  

434 
  



Edinburgh 
  

6,103 
  

2,338 
  

5,509 
  

2,113 
  

5,255 
  

2,047 
  

5,341 
  

2,028 
  



Haddington 
  

422 
  

145 
  

328 
  

113 
  

423 
  

172 
  

456 
  

183 
  



Jedburgh/ Duns 
  

134 
  

40 
  

144 
  

43 
  

122 
  

38 
  

237 
  

84 
  



Linlithgow 
  

1,123 
  

426 
  

853 
  

319 
  

1,179 
  

458 
  

1,401 
  

569 
  



Peebles 
  

57 
  

23 
  

39 
  

11 
  

37 
  

14 
  

70 
  

29 
  



Selkirk 
  

105 
  

33 
  

86 
  

34 
  

119 
  

47 
  

205 
  

88 
  



Glasgow 
  

8,310 
  

3,441 
  

9,412 
  

4,057 
  

9,169 
  

2,947 
  

11,247 
  

4,853 
  



Campbeltown 
  

106 
  

40 
  

130 
  

53 
  

113 
  

44 
  

96 
  

29 
  



Dumbarton 
  

1,297 
  

532 
  

1,329 
  

525 
  

1,305 
  

567 
  

1,794 
  

724 
  



Dunoon 
  

213 
  

96 
  

194 
  

90 
  

239 
  

115 
  

262 
  

114 
  



Greenock 
  

765 
  

313 
  

766 
  

328 
  

529 
  

244 
  

723 
  

367 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

1,107 
  

352 
  

1,232 
  

344 
  

936 
  

276 
  

1,161 
  

381 
  



Oban 
  

131 
  

48 
  

145 
  

55 
  

141 
  

58 
  

197 
  

68 
  



Paisley 
  

2,330 
  

979 
  

2,333 
  

940 
  

2,008 
  

917 
  

2,424 
  

1,082 
  



Rothesay 
  

53 
  

23 
  

29 
  

10 
  

47 
  

22 
  

66 
  

29 
  



Airdrie 
  

1,735 
  

651 
  

1,653 
  

595 
  

1,215 
  

468 
  

1,601 
  

606 
  



Ayr 
  

1,007 
  

400 
  

1,013 
  

426 
  

1,053 
  

447 
  

1,164 
  

507 
  



Dumfries 
  

480 
  

159 
  

629 
  

193 
  

515 
  

188 
  

466 
  

181 
  



Hamilton 
  

3,558 
  

1,419 
  

3,304 
  

1,319 
  

3,319 
  

1,483 
  

3,595 
  

1,746 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

87 
  

29 
  

76 
  

26 
  

98 
  

28 
  

46 
  

23 
  



Lanark 
  

442 
  

155 
  

356 
  

155 
  

348 
  

143 
  

403 
  

191 
  



Stranraer 
  

304 
  

105 
  

207 
  

74 
  

202 
  

86 
  

214 
  

69 
  



Total for Scotland 
  

41,339 
  

16,225 
  

40,767 
  

16,028 
  

38,848 
  

14,081 
  

46,594 
  

19,512

Local Government

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many staff and (b) what percentage of staff employed by each local authority are graded A1 or A2.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is given in Table 9 of the Joint Staffing Watch Survey: December 2000 , published jointly by the Scottish Executive and COSLA in November 2001, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17232), and on the Scottish Executive internet site: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/localgov/jsws-00.asp .

Maritime Safety

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the location of the European Maritime Safety Agency.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the location of the European Maritime Safety Agency.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to initiate further research into chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Hugh Henry: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care within the NHS in Scotland.

  In response to the publication of the English Chief Medical Officer’s working group on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the Department of Health in England has asked the Medical Research Council to draw up a research strategy to inform the future direction of research on CFS/ME. Until that strategy is available, it would not be sensible for CSO to commission research.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many rheumatologists are currently employed within the NHS and how many were employed in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on the number of rheumatologists directly employed in each health board in NHSScotland in the last six years for which data is available is shown in the following table. The tables should be read in conjunction with the notes.

  Rheumatology staff directly employed by NHSScotland by Health Board

  Headcount at 30 September1

  

 

Consultants 
  

Other Career Grades2


Training Grades3




1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Scotland 
  

16 
  

17 
  

19 
  

20 
  

22 
  

22 
  

12 
  

10 
  

10 
  

8 
  

10 
  

12 
  

13 
  

17 
  

18 
  

19 
  

22 
  

18 
  



Argyll & Clyde 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Ayrshire & Arran 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Borders 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Fife 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Forth Valley 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Grampian 
  

3 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

2 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  

3 
  

3 
  

3 
  

3 
  

4 
  

3 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

4 
  

2 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

6 
  

8 
  

9 
  

10 
  

11 
  

8 
  



Highland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

3 
  

3 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Lothian 
  

3 
  

4 
  

5 
  

5 
  

6 
  

6 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

3 
  

5 
  

4 
  

5 
  

6 
  

5 
  



Orkney 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tayside 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Western Isles 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  Source: Medical and Dental Census, ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Headcount includes honorary appointments.

  2. "Other career grades" comprises associate specialist, staff, hospital practitioner and GMP (para. 94 appointment) grades.

  3. "Training grades" comprises specialist registrar, registrar and senior house officer grades.

  4. The specialty record is that identified by trust HR departments as being the main specialty of the consultant. There may be other consultants who contribute to the workload in rheumatology.

  5. These data are released under National Statistics.

NHS Waiting Lists

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how long the current waiting lists are for joint replacement surgery, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The median waiting times for hip and knee joint replacement surgery for the year ended 30 September 2001, by NHS Board of residence, are given in the following table:

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times For Hip And Knee Joint Replacement Surgery, By NHS Board Of Residence: Year Ended 30 September 2001.

  


NHS Board 
  

Hip Joint Replacement 
  

Knee Joint Replacement 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

187 days 
  

207 days 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

138 days 
  

141 days 
  



Borders 
  

173 days 
  

186 days 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

206 days 
  

169 days 
  



Fife 
  

184 days 
  

179 days 
  



Forth Valley 
  

218 days 
  

284 days 
  



Grampian 
  

108 days 
  

115 days 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

217 days 
  

224 days 
  



Highland 
  

112 days 
  

133 days 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

132 days 
  

133 days 
  



Lothian 
  

207 days 
  

215 days 
  



Orkney 
  

45 days 
  

34 days 
  



Shetland 
  

147 days 
  

162 days 
  



Tayside 
  

127 days 
  

145 days 
  



Western Isles 
  

56 days 
  

28 days 
  



Scotland 
  

158 days 
  

172 days 
  



  Source: ISD, Scotland.

NHS Waiting Lists

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which health boards operate waiting lists for anti-TNF(tumour necrosis factor) treatments.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

National Health Service

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of NHS Tayside.

Malcolm Chisholm: I met with the Chairman of NHS Tayside and the Chairman and Chief Executive of Tayside Acute Hospitals Trust on 8 February 2002. Scottish Executive officials maintain regular contact with representatives of NHS Tayside.

Nursing

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist nursing posts are funded by charities or charitable foundations and where any such nursing posts have been located since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Planning

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will now confirm (a) approval of the planning decision taken by South Ayrshire Council on 30 June 1999 for the development at Heathfield in Ayr, which includes a new stadium for Ayr United Football Club, or (b) acceptance of recommendations made by the Inquiry Reporters Unit in respect of this planning decision.

Ms Margaret Curran: Neither. As I explained in my letter of 31 January, the Scottish ministers will seek the views of concerned parties on those areas of the public local inquiry report, with which there was disagreement. These will then be taken into account before the Scottish ministers issue a fresh decision letter.

Post Office

John Young (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to Consignia regarding the social and economic effects in Scotland of the proposed alterations to morning mail deliveries, possible reduction of staff and closure of sorting offices.

Allan Wilson: Consignia, post offices and postal services are reserved matters.

  The Scottish Executive recognises the importance of the availability of postal services across Scotland. It is in regular contact with Consignia on a range of issues.

Prison Service

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposals to contract out prisoner escort services to a specialist provider will be confined to the transportation of prisoners between courts and prisons.

Mr Jim Wallace: It will include all escorts from police custody units to court, the care and management of prisoners throughout the legal proceedings (both remand and convicted prisoners) and the escort requirements whilst in prison.

  The objective of the changes and procurement exercise by Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will be to restructure the range of services currently being undertaken by the SPS and the eight police forces.

Public Transport

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the abandonment of the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit (CERT) scheme has increased the commercial viability of the proposed railway station at Edinburgh Airport and whether its policy on the proposed station has been reassessed following the abandonment of CERT.

Lewis Macdonald: Sinclair Knight Merz have been commissioned to undertake a detailed financial and engineering study into rail links to both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports. They are aware of the abandonment of City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit (CERT) in favour of the West Edinburgh Busways project. It is too early to say what the outcome of the study will be, and how the abandonment of CERT might affect it.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Strategic Rail Authority regarding the transfer of three Eurostar trains which were intended to provide a service from Scotland but have now been removed to the London-Leeds line.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority on a wide range of issues including the train operations on the East Coast Main Line.

Rail Network

John Young (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the installation in Scotland of the European hi-tech train protection system and what position it has taken in any such representations.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including railway safety.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal responsibilities the Scottish water authorities and other utilities companies have in respect of returning roads that have been excavated during the conduct of their business to their original state.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to answers given to questions S1O-4462 and S1O-4522 on 17 January 2002 and 24 January 2002 respectively.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the current state of roads that have been excavated during the upgrade of water and sewerage mains in the constituency of Argyll and Bute.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for Argyll and Bute Council as local roads authority.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what data exists that sets out the performance of each local authority in (a) monitoring water authorities and other utilities companies in respect of repairing the roads they excavate satisfactorily and (b) compelling such bodies to do so, and whether it will publish any such data.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for individual local roads authorities.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what sanctions can be used by local authorities against water authorities or other utilities companies in disputes surrounding roads that they have left in an unsatisfactory state of repair after excavations in the conduct of their business.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-4462 on 17 January 2002.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering giving any further powers to local authorities to assist them in (a) monitoring water authorities and other utilities companies in respect of repairing the roads they excavate to a satisfactory standard and (b) compelling such bodies to do so.

Lewis Macdonald: No. Powers are currently available to roads authorities under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to ensure that utility companies reinstate roads to a satisfactory standard after excavations.

Roads

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to creating a national roads inspectorate that would monitor and enforce standards in respect of the state of repair of roads to ensure that the approach to this issue is consistent.

Lewis Macdonald: Roads authorities are responsible for monitoring the reinstatement of roads in their area. There are no plans at present to create a National Roads Inspectorate.

Schools

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19009 by Nicol Stephen on 21 January 2001 and with regard to its news release SE1826/2001 on 6 August 2001, on what basis the bandings for primary and secondary schools derived from the size of the school roll were selected as the criteria for distributing the additional resources to local authorities.

Nicol Stephen: The bandings were selected to reflect, in broad terms, the range of different school rolls in the primary, secondary and special school sectors. Five bands were used for primary schools, three bands for secondary schools and two for special schools.

Scottish Borders Council

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on planned cuts to the continuing education program in the Scottish Borders Council area, reported in The Southern Reporter on 24 January 2002, and what action it will take on this matter.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reductions in drug and alcohol residential services by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed service reductions in supported employment by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reductions in the hearing impairment service by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reductions in nursing home provision by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposal by Scottish Borders Council to introduce means-testing for adaptations to the property of people with a disability.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposal by Scottish Borders Council to introduce charges for adaptations to the property of people with a disability based on an assessment of ability to contribute to the costs.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed increase in meals on wheels charges from £2.12 to £2.85 per meal by Scottish Borders Council.

Peter Peacock: It is a matter for each local authority to establish its expenditure priorities within the budget available to it. It would not be appropriate for ministers to intervene in the individual spending decisions of a council.

Scottish Borders Council

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Gala Youth Project by Scottish Borders Council.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22328 on 7 February 2002.

Scottish Borders Council

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Scottish Pre-school Playgroup Association by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Scottish Childminding Association by Scottish Borders Council.

Cathy Jamieson: It is entirely a matter for each local authority to establish its expenditure priorities within the budget available to it. It would not be appropriate for ministers to intervene in the individual spending decisions of a council.

Scottish Borders Council

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Who Cares? Scotland by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the First Step Trust by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Borderline by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Borders Carers Centre by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Penumbra by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Eyemouth and District Disability Association by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Children 1st by Scottish Borders Council.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to Dry Dock by Scottish Borders Council.

Peter Peacock: I hope that it will be possible for Borders Council to resolve its budget difficulties without reducing funding to voluntary bodies carrying out important work. However, it is entirely a matter for each local authority to establish its expenditure priorities within the budget available to it. It would not be appropriate for ministers to intervene in the individual spending decisions of a council.

Scottish Borders Council

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposed reduction or removal of funding to the Scottish Borders Voluntary Development Agency by Scottish Borders Council.

Iain Gray: Borders Local Volunteer Development Agency currently receives funding of £31,500 from the Scottish Executive, as part of our funding package for the national network of Volunteer Centres. Each Volunteer Centre is required to raise funding of a similar scale from other sources, which can include local authorities.

  We understand that its decision with regard to the level of future resources has not been disclosed by Borders Council to Borders Local Volunteer Development Agency, but a reduction has been indicated. As with all voluntary organisations that we sponsor, the funding position of Borders Local Volunteer Development Agency will be kept under review.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts, and to what value, it has awarded to (a) Arthur Andersen, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young, (d) KPMG and (e) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive does not keep a central record of contracts placed by individual departments and agencies with particular suppliers. However, the value of payments made in each year is set out in the following table:

  





1997
(£000) 
  

1998
(£000) 
  

1999
(£000) 
  

2000
(£000) 
  

2001
(£000) 
  

Total
(£000) 
  



(a) Arthur Andersen 
  

nil 
  

64 
  

30 
  

nil 
  

381 
  

475 
  



(b) Deloitte and Touche 
  

7 
  

30 
  

51 
  

51 
  

390 
  

706 
  



(c) Ernst &Young 
  

15 
  

Nil 
  

7 
  

7 
  

45 
  

74 
  



(d) KPMG 
  

12 
  

119 
  

48 
  

48 
  

116 
  

334 
  



(e) PWC* 
  

724 
  

154 
  

440 
  

440 
  

153 
  

1,897 
  



  Note:

  * Includes expenditure with "PriceWaterhouse" and "Coopers and Lybrand".

  In the particular case of Arthur Andersen it has been established that six contracts have been awarded since 1997. Of these, three have not yet been completed. The total value of all current contracts with Arthur Andersen, on completion (expected in 2003) is estimated at around £1.2 million.

Scottish Executive Staff

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of all employees of (a) Arthur Andersen, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young, (d) KPMG and (e) PricewaterhouseCoopers who have been seconded to work for it in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested can be found in the following table:

  

 

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 
  



Arthur Andersen 
  

 - 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Deloitte & Touche 
  

 - 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Ernst & Young 
  

 - 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



KPMG 
  

 - 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



PricewaterhouseCoopers 
  

 - 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  

1

Sex Offenders

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to ensure that convicted sex offenders notify the UK authorities of their address when travelling abroad and that Scottish nationals and residents who have been convicted of sex offences abroad are automatically put on the UK register of sex offenders.

Mr Jim Wallace: We have already strengthened the Sex Offenders Act by requiring certain sex offenders to inform the police when they travel overseas.

  Although there are practical difficulties in automatic registration of UK and foreign nationals convicted of sex offences overseas, the Executive and the Home Office have proposed further measures to make some of these offenders subject to the same registration requirements as sex offenders convicted in the UK.

Sex Offenders

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what definition of "serious sex offenders" is used when sex offenders are so categorised.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  SPS makes the assumption that all offenders who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment are considered serious offenders. As such, all sex offenders in custody are considered "serious". The Executive proposes to introduce, in the forthcoming Criminal Justice Bill, statutory criteria defining the highest risk offenders. In addition, the proposed Risk Management Authority will produce common standard guidelines to assist with categorising the risk such offenders pose to the public.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when a minister will visit Nairn to promote its golf tourism strategy and what steps it is taking to promote Nairn’s golf clubs as part of this strategy.

Mike Watson: I have no immediate plans to visit Nairn. Nairn Golf Club is part of the Golf Highland initiative, which works closely with VisitScotland. The Nairn golf courses feature strongly in VisitScotland promotional activities.

Victim Support

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the victims of crime.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Strategy for Victims is promoting a wide-ranging programme of initiatives to improve the support and information available to victims and to provide them with more opportunities to participate in the criminal justice process.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any financial or other assistance to the Third Age Group, based in Fife, in each of the last five years.

Iain Gray: The Third Age Group received a grant of £15,000 in 1995-96, £15,000 in 1996-97 and £7,500 in 1997-98 from the Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund.

  The Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund is a trust that provides grants to assist voluntary action projects in Scotland. It has received grant-in-aid from the Scottish Executive/Scottish Office for a programme of funding for local voluntary organisations since 1982. Decisions on individual applications for funding are made by the trustees of the fund.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether (a) any major landscape problems and (b) any subsidence connected to any such problems have been identified in respect of the Holyrood Project.

Sir David Steel: I have been informed by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that there have been no landscape problems or problems associated with subsidence in respect of the Holyrood Building Project.